This week's assignment for Baked Sunday Mornings, Mom's Olive Oil Orange Bundt Cake, isn't completely new to me -- I made this cake a few months ago. Last time I made the cake, it was good, but not great; I thought the orange flavor was a little lacking. I was happy to give it another try to see if I could achieve a better result.
Before, I used an extra virgin oil from Occhipinti to make this cake. While it's a great oil, I thought I would switch it up a little this time. I recently discovered a little gem of a store in Frederick, MD, the Lebherz Oil and Vinegar Emporium. Tom and I came across the store entirely by accident, once when we were killing some time after arriving early for our reservation at Volt, just a few doors up the street (it's a 40-mile drive to Frederick from Washington, so it's a little tricky trying to arrive precisely on time at the restaurant). At Lebherz, you can try any of the 40+ varieties of olive oils and vinegars they carry before buying. I am completely addicted to the ripe peach white balsamic vinegar, which makes a fantastic salad dressing.
I decided to bake the cake with some Lebherz fused eureka lemon extra virgin olive oil, which is made by pressing whole lemons together with the olives. Lebherz also sells a fused blood orange extra virgin olive oil, but I didn't like it as much as the lemon version when I tried it in the store. The lemon oil is so bright and flavorful, and I thought that the lemon would reinforce the citrus flavor from the orange zest in the cake.
In addition, last time I made this cake, I didn't make the optional glaze and simply sprinkled the cake with powdered sugar. I decided to try the glaze this time, which is simply powdered sugar mixed with freshly squeezed orange juice.
The final change I made this time was to bake the cake for five minutes less (only 45 minutes instead of 50), because the outer crust was a little dark last time. So with the shorter baking time, the orange glaze, and the lemon olive oil, this cake was noticably improved from my previous effort, and quite fantastic. The lemon oil made the citrus flavor of this cake really pop. The cake was also incredibly fragrant -- I could catch the citrus aroma wafting towards me from several feet away. The lovely lemon-orange flavor of the cake lingered on my tongue in the most delightful way.
The texture of the cake was still quite dense, like a pound cake, but I think that baking it for 5 minutes less resulted in a slightly more moist cake. The glaze provided a nice bit of sweetness that was not overpowering. Just delicious.
Recipe: "Mom's Olive Oil Orange Bundt," from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
Previous Posts:
Before, I used an extra virgin oil from Occhipinti to make this cake. While it's a great oil, I thought I would switch it up a little this time. I recently discovered a little gem of a store in Frederick, MD, the Lebherz Oil and Vinegar Emporium. Tom and I came across the store entirely by accident, once when we were killing some time after arriving early for our reservation at Volt, just a few doors up the street (it's a 40-mile drive to Frederick from Washington, so it's a little tricky trying to arrive precisely on time at the restaurant). At Lebherz, you can try any of the 40+ varieties of olive oils and vinegars they carry before buying. I am completely addicted to the ripe peach white balsamic vinegar, which makes a fantastic salad dressing.
I decided to bake the cake with some Lebherz fused eureka lemon extra virgin olive oil, which is made by pressing whole lemons together with the olives. Lebherz also sells a fused blood orange extra virgin olive oil, but I didn't like it as much as the lemon version when I tried it in the store. The lemon oil is so bright and flavorful, and I thought that the lemon would reinforce the citrus flavor from the orange zest in the cake.
In addition, last time I made this cake, I didn't make the optional glaze and simply sprinkled the cake with powdered sugar. I decided to try the glaze this time, which is simply powdered sugar mixed with freshly squeezed orange juice.
Recipe: "Mom's Olive Oil Orange Bundt," from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
Previous Posts:
- "A Cake with Zest: Mom's Olive Oil Orange Bundt," April 8, 2011.
- "A Baking Leap of Faith: Orange-Glazed Olive Oil Cake with Fleur de Sel," July 9, 2010.
Comments
I love the olive oil and vinegar stores too. Great idea to use a citrus infused olive oil!
I don't think you meant to say "simply orange juice mixed with freshly squeezed orange juice".